Ben Brust had 15 points in Wisconsin’s loss to Kentucky last April, and even though he’s playing in the Lithuanian Basketball League right now, he didn’t miss out on the opportunity to trash talk leading up to Saturday’s game. Brust posted this tweet on Saturday night:

Kentucky will meet Wisconsin once again in the semifinals and two of the players from last year’s game, Dakari Johnson and Aaron Harrison, along with newcomer Karl Towns, talked about Round 2 today.

Johnson said this year he and his teammates have a different mindset entering the Final Four. “Last year it wasn’t expected,” the sophomore told reporters. “This year it’s expected from us so you know we are going out there to win and last year it kind of just felt like we were happy to be there.”

Harrison, who hit the game-winner against the Badgers a year ago, is excited to have Willie Cauley-Stein this time around. If you recall, Willie suffered an ankle injury in the Sweet 16 and missed the remainder of the tournament. His defense will be crucial in slowing down Kaminsky, Dekker and the Wisconsin offense.

“Having Willie on the floor is obviously a huge help. He’s probably the best defender I’ve ever seen in person. He’s a big help,” said Harrison.

Towns is ready to get a shot at Naismith Player of the Year finalist Frank Kaminsky. Towns said, “Kaminsky is a great player and it is going to be just one competitive game. I really can’t wait to play.”

Former Texas underachiever Rick Barnes and the University of Tennessee finalized a deal today that makes Barnes the Vols’ new head coach. Barnes is the second coach with Final Four experience to join the conference this month, teaming up with Ben Howland of Mississippi State in the new class of SEC coaches.

A press conference is currently underway in Knoxville to formerly introduce Barnes to his new fan base. It seems like just yesterday they were doing the same for Donnie Tyndall.

According to Fanatics.com, fans of the University of Kentucky have purchased the most Four Final merchandise since Saturday. However, the Dukies covered the most ground, owning 17 states to Kentucky’s 15. Michigan State was a close third with 13 states, followed by Wisconsin taking the other five.

By the looks of the map, Kentucky controlled Hawaii, Texas, Utah, Wyoming, South Dakota, Missouri, Arkansas, Alabama, Georgia, West Virginia, Vermont, Ohio, Indiana and, of course, Kentucky. (It’s been a while since I’ve studied my states so that may not be accurate, although I did win West Broadway’s Geography Bee in fifth grade.)

As another month comes to a close we are all faced with that horrible question: what is Netflix getting rid of? Lucky for you it’s only March 31 so you still have a few hours to sneak in a final viewing of those soon to be lost gems. Below are five of the titles that will be most missed among Netflix’s departures. Because time is so limited I am only including movies.

The Cable Guy

Ben Stiller’s directorial debut, The Cable Guy is a dark comedy which was ahead of its time. Seriously, the part where Chip (Jim Carrey) talks about playing Mortal Kombat with your friend in Vietnam, definite foreshadowing to Xbox Live and PlayStation Network.

Clue

A comedic spin on the classic board game, Clue is full of twists turns and multiple endings. Even if you don’t like the game, and if you don’t shame on you, Tim Curry and Christopher Lloyd lead a cast of oddballs which is very entertaining.

Good Morning Vietnam

A classic movie which looks and feels like a feel-good movie, but has a simmering tension always bubbling beneath the surface waiting to erupt. It’s probably a coincidence, but the fact that Good Morning Vietnam is being removed in the month of the 40th Anniversary of the fall of Saigon seems like a bad time to remove this movie.

The Karate Kid

A movie that should be required viewing for everyone. The Karate Kid is full of life lessons such as patience, hard work, and determination. It also features one of the most diabolical lines ever uttered in film…”Sweep the leg.”

Mystic River

Kevin Bacon, Sean Penn, and Tim Robbins headline a great cast in this movie about childhood friends who grew apart, only to be brought back together by a horrible tragedy. Definitely not a feelgood movie, but one worth watching if you haven’t seen it before. Besides, the sadness is short-lived because tomorrow you can watch Leprechaun 6: Back 2 tha Hood

Maker’s Mark’s first bottle to be released as part of a series to raise money for a new UK Athletics Academic Center will be released on Friday. A picture is floating around the internet of it and you can see the look above. Cool image of Rupp and a bottle that I know will sell out immediately

Dave Baker, Rex Chapman and Michael Eaves will handle the TeamStream announcing at the Final Four, CBS announced today. They will be the voices of your homer coverage for the seminal game with Wisconsin beginning around 8:30 pm on TNT.

Baker and Chapman are back for a second year, while Eaves replaces Rob Bromley in the crew.

Before I even stepped foot on Kentucky’s campus, I was confident in my ability to become a member of the so-called “One and Done” club that quickly passes through the college ranks on the way to the NBA. What I didn’t expect was for my college experience to be so amazing. It helped me in a ton of ways on and off the court, and gave me a lot to think about before I made the decision to declare for last year’s draft.”

First off, there’s no college experience like playing for the University of Kentucky, and it starts with the fan base. The fans are absolutely ridiculous, in a great way. When you play for the Wildcats, you’re like a member of their family. Those who wear the blue and white are treated like rock stars around town. Our fans live and breathe the game, and the passion runs year-round.”

When people ask me what makes playing basketball there so different, I laugh, and I tell them, “Imagine practicing in front of 10,000 people; that’s why UK is the most amazing program in the country.” Elements of that level of devotion may exist elsewhere, but in Kentucky, you are never forgotten. Guys who played there 20 years ago will get mobbed if they show up on the streets of Lexington. Antoine Walker, Jamal Mashburn, Rex Chapman, Tayshaun Prince, it doesn’t matter — every single one of them is beloved.

There’s plenty more from your favorite UK player last season, including why he chose to play for Calipari and his thoughts on the current state of college basketball.

If you’re anything like me, you were worried when it became official that Kentucky would be facing Wisconsin once again in the Final Four. A vivid flashback of impending doom from last year’s Final Four against the Badgers resurfaced in your mind and then came the shot. That miraculous shot that Aaron Harrison made as time dwindled away on the scoreboard to send Kentucky to the championship game for the 12th time.

The Cats barely scraped by last April, and they barely scraped by against Notre Dame on Saturday. Once again Aaron Harrison hit a big 3 point shot (this time with about 3 minutes remaining) and then his brother Andrew made clutch free throw to secure the victory. If anything, Saturday’s game did not do anything to ease your mind, it just made it worse. Poor defense and rookie mistakes plagued Kentucky all night long and you started to wonder if this was what it was going to be like the next couple of games as competition and tensions heightened. However, we shouldn’t worry about Saturday’s game and here’s why:

1. We are eons more experienced

Eons might be a slight exaggeration considering it’s only been a year, but we are way more experienced than we were coming into the Final Four last year. Two of our starters (Aaron and Andrew) have competed in a national championship game, as well as two other major contributors (Marcus and Dakari) to this team. This is huge when it comes to competing on the biggest stage in college basketball. The ones who have been here before know how to perform on a national stage unlike anything else they have experienced before (despite all the ratings this year). They are also less likely to make the costly mistakes like they made Saturday night when under pressure.

Yes, Wisconsin is experienced as well, but they also didn’t make it to the championship last year and they haven’t had to endure the amount of media and national scrutiny that Kentucky has all season either.

2. Willie will play this time

After spraining his ankle against Louisville in the Sweet 16 last season, Cauley-Stein missed the remainder of Kentucky’s magical run to the title game which of course included the game against Wisconsin in the Final Four. His absence allowed Marcus Lee to shine (a year ago yesterday was the Michigan game where we first saw his marvelous abilities), but his large presence was missed on the court. This year, Cauley-Stein will provide a better match-up for Wisconsin’s 7’0″, 235 pound forward Frank Kaminsky and will help contain him. While Kentucky no longer has Julius Randle and James Young, they have the returning players as well as the addition of a talented freshman class. It should be interesting to see what the Cats can do in conjunction with Cauley-Stein this time around.

3. We know how to control Sam Dekker and Frank Kaminsky

Two of Wisconsin’s greatest assets are Sam Dekker and Frank Kaminsky. Last year Dekker lead the Badgers with 15 points and four rebounds and Kaminsky had eight points and five rebounds. This year, the two lead the team again. Dekker averages 13.9 points and 5.5 rebounds per game and Kaminsky averages 18.7 and eight rebounds per game. Both are also slated to go in the top 25 picks of the NBA draft in June.

Kaminsky has really blossomed since the last time Kentucky faced him. He’s turned into an efficient shooter and passer to get around the double-teams around him. If we hadn’t met Wisconsin in last year’s Final Four, nerves would be higher. But the fact that we did face the Badgers, means that we know how to better control Dekker and Kaminsky and not allow them to completely go off.

4. Saturday’s game will force us to bounce back

We’ve seen it all this season from this Kentucky. They have rolled right over teams and they have given us heart attacks. There seems to be no in between. The close games have forced Cal to get his troops inline and when they bounce back, they bounce back strong. Saturday’s edge-of-your-seat game against the Fighting Irish and a week of practice will more than likely have the Cats coming back as strong as ever against Wisconsin on Saturday. As Cal has been saying, “We’re not perfect. We’re undefeated, but we’re not perfect.”

No matter what, Saturday’s game is sure to be a good one as the Badgers will more than likely be out for revenge from last year’s game, but you shouldn’t be too worried.

Angela Spoonamore of Garrard County is accused of giving beer and rum to her 14-month-old nephew Sunday night at a game-watch party for Kentucky’s Elite Eight game. According to WKYT, others at the party said Spoonamore got out of control and the toddler was thrown to the ground at one point.

The baby’s mother said her son never drank any of the alcohol — thank God — and he is fine.

Spoonamore faces felony charges with the possibility of five to 10 in prison.

The National Association of Basketball Coaches named John Calipari its Coach of the Year for the 2014-15 college basketball season. It is Cal’s third time winning the NABC award; he took it in 1996 while at UMass and shared it with Mike Anderson in 2009, the year before he came to Kentucky.

This also marks the fourth time a UK coach has won the award. Adolph Rupp, Eddie Sutton and Tubby Smith each took honors while coaching the Wildcats.

Mitch Barnhart is one of four nominees for Athletics Director of the Year, presented by the Sports Business Awards. Barnhart joins Jeff Long of Arkansas, Ian McCaw of Baylor and Dan Radakovich of Clemson in the running for the award. The winner will be announced at the Sports Business Awards ceremony on May 20, 2015 at the New York Marriott Marquis at Times Square.

“I am honored just to be mentioned for Athletics Director of the Year,” Barnhart said in release from UK. “I am thankful for our student-athletes, coaches, staff and the Big Blue Nation. This recognition, as well as our growth as a department, has come because of them.”

The nomination comes the same month UK Athletics completed the final stage of Barnhart’s 15 by 15 by 15 Plan.

Well it was fun while it lasted. The crew finally got the UK cow wrangled up and loaded into a truck, almost two hours after it escaped on Cooper Drive.

UK student Adam Menker gets credit for lassoing the steer. Menker is the President of the UK rope team. You can’t make that up.

@HLpublicsafety

]]>http://kentuckysportsradio.com/main/breaking-the-cow-has-been-captured/feed/2The team bus is ready for the Final Fourhttp://kentuckysportsradio.com/basketball-2/the-team-bus-is-ready-for-the-final-four/
http://kentuckysportsradio.com/basketball-2/the-team-bus-is-ready-for-the-final-four/#commentsTue, 31 Mar 2015 15:44:41 +0000http://kentuckysportsradio.com/?p=176561

@UKManager

The team bus got a makeover for this week’s trip up to Indianapolis for the Final Four. The blue, Blue Grass Tours look was replaced with a black wrap and “Champions Play Here” across the side.

I assume the bus still has Nintendo 64 capabilities on the television inside. If not, that needs to be fixed, immediately.

After an exhausting run all around Cooper Drive and the surrounding neighborhood, it’s time for a quick breather before the chase picks up again. The cow is seen here resting between a crowd of onlookers and a man wearing – What is that man wearing? Oversized scrubs and cowboy boots?

The cow has been on the loose since 10 a.m., according to WKYT. It was captured around 10:45 a.m. but broke free for another run.

The only explanation I can come up with for Chris Webber’s comments on Mike & Mike this morning is he must be high, which, from what I’ve heard, wouldn’t be all that crazy before noon on a Tuesday morning.

Webber went on ESPN radio to talk about the Final Four and his criticism of Willie Cauley-Stein has Big Blue Nation up in arms. The former Michigan Wolverine said Cauley-Stein will never start in the NBA and shot down any chance he could be a DeAndre Jordan-type player in the league.

He said, “Let’s just be honest: If you’re a junior in basketball and seven-feet and average under 10 points, you’re telling me he can be a DeAndre Jordan? There’s no way. Come on.”

“This kid is like seven-foot and weighs two hundred,” C-Webb continued. “He won’t start in the league. You can’t play in the league if you can’t score, people.”

You’re looking at a cow sprinting down Cooper Drive, right around Commonwealth Stadium. I have no idea how or why there is a cow running around freely on campus but we’ve received plenty of photos and texts about it this morning.

A UK police officer is doing his best to corner it. It’s going to take more than that.

@janetpattonhl

Happy Tuesday.

]]>http://kentuckysportsradio.com/football-2/a-cow-is-running-wild-on-uks-campus/feed/6KSR is live from McDonald’s in Winchester (Tuesday Show Thread)http://kentuckysportsradio.com/main/ksr-is-live-from-mcdonalds-in-winchester-tuesday-show-thread/
http://kentuckysportsradio.com/main/ksr-is-live-from-mcdonalds-in-winchester-tuesday-show-thread/#commentsTue, 31 Mar 2015 13:55:57 +0000http://kentuckysportsradio.com/?p=176550

KSR listeners in or around Winchester should stop by McDonald’s on Lexington Ave for this morning’s remote broadcast. Matt and Ryan are in Clark County on the hunt for Egg White Delights and to talk about the Cats for two hours.

]]>http://kentuckysportsradio.com/main/ksr-is-live-from-mcdonalds-in-winchester-tuesday-show-thread/feed/25BTI’s Rants and Ramblings: Repeat Matchups in the Final Four Look to Favor Kentuckyhttp://kentuckysportsradio.com/main/btis-rants-and-ramblings-repeat-matchups-in-the-final-four-look-to-favor-kentucky/
http://kentuckysportsradio.com/main/btis-rants-and-ramblings-repeat-matchups-in-the-final-four-look-to-favor-kentucky/#commentsTue, 31 Mar 2015 13:00:56 +0000http://kentuckysportsradio.com/?p=176512

I’ve heard this stat mentioned many times on television that the meeting between Kentucky and Wisconsin is just the 3rd time in NCAA history where 2 teams have met in the national semifinals in consecutive years. That is a correct stat as it happened in 1959-60 and in 1961-62. In both of those instances, the same team won both games. I thought I would stretch it out even further to any time 2 teams met in the Final Four (semis or finals) in consecutive years, and you find that has happened a total of 5 times:

1959: California 64, Cincinnati 58
1960: California 77, Cincinnati 69

1961: Cincinnati 70, Ohio State 65
1962: Cincinnati 71, Ohio State 59

1967: UCLA 73, Houston 58
1968: UCLA 101, Houston 69

1990: UNLV 103, Duke 73
1991: Duke 79, UNLV 77

2006: Florida 73, UCLA 57
2007: Florida 76, UCLA 66

In 4 of the 5 occasions, the same team has won both games. And consider in 3 of those 4 instances, the 2nd meeting between the 2 teams resulted in a greater margin of victory than the first time. What this shows to me is a couple things. First of all, revenge games don’t exist over the course of 2 seasons. By that time, some of players have changed and I am sure the sting of the loss has worn off much more than when it occurs in the same season. Secondly, more often than not the better team wins. In all of the cases above (sans Duke-UNLV) the better team won both matchups. There were no upsets there. Kentucky, on paper, is the better team. History shows us that UK fans should feel quite confident going into Saturday.

]]>http://kentuckysportsradio.com/main/btis-rants-and-ramblings-repeat-matchups-in-the-final-four-look-to-favor-kentucky/feed/4Wendy’s KSR top ten tweets of the dayhttp://kentuckysportsradio.com/main/wendys-ksr-top-ten-tweets-of-the-day-27/
http://kentuckysportsradio.com/main/wendys-ksr-top-ten-tweets-of-the-day-27/#commentsTue, 31 Mar 2015 12:30:54 +0000http://kentuckysportsradio.com/?p=176540Wendy’s Fresh-Made Salads offer healthy fast food choices, fresh toppings, and the choice to select from nutritious options for healthy living. ___________________________________________________________________You can be a part of Wendy’s KSR Top Ten Tweets by using hashtags like #KSR #BBN or #KSRtopten. If we like what we see, it could be posted the next day. Now. On to the tweets:

Monday was a big day for Willie Cauley-Stein. The big man became the University of Kentucky’s25th consensus First Team All-American after the Associated Press and National Association of Basketball Coaches selected him as a first-teamer. He had previously been named to the Sporting News and USBWA first teams, completing the sweep of the NCAA-recognized All-America teams.

With the AP nod, Cauley-Stein became the first AP First Team All-American to average less than 10 points per game, a true testament to his defensive prowess and ability to affect games.

So give it up for Willie Cauley-Stein and his defense in the comments section tonight. He’s had an incredible season and it’s not done yet.

Oh, and shout-out to Karl Towns, too. The AP named him Second Team All-American today.

*****

John Calipari raved about Wisconsin’s offense.

During the Final Four teleconference Monday morning, John Calipari said Wisconsin’s offense may be better than the one he last saw in Notre Dame.

“They’re outstanding,” Cal said of the Badgers. “We just played a great offensive team in Notre Dame. This team rivals and maybe surpasses because they can iso you in the post. They shoot the three the same as Notre Dame does. They have that one guy that’s a big guy, not a guard, and their guards are good, too, in Frank who can go get his own. But Dekker has proved he can do the same. They’re really good there.”

He also wonders how Big Blue Nation always finds its way in.

When asked about the power of BBN, Cal said, “You walk into our arena at home, the upper deck in the corners are filled 40 minutes before the game. What, are you crazy? Why are you here right now? The radio show has 8,000 or 9,000 people that stay after. Our radio show would rank in the top 30 in attendance of games. The other thing is you go on the road, they’re chanting. You’re like, Oh, my gosh, they’ve taken over the arena. Like they do that. I don’t know how they get tickets. They know not to wear blue when they’re trying to get tickets. They have to wear red, orange, another color. People don’t want to sell them their tickets. They figure out ways of getting in. They don’t tell, because it’s a secret. They don’t tell anybody. No one knows. How in the world are they getting these tickets?”

Someone will make $1,000,000 if Michigan State wins the title.

A $20,000 bet was placed on Michigan State to win the champion at 50/1 odds back in December. The overly confident bettor/Spartan fan will collect $1,020,000,000 if State can pull it off in Indianapolis this weekend.

Who makes such a ludicrous bet, you ask? Derek Stevens, the owner of the D Casino on Fremont Street. The D stands for Detroit, Stevens’ hometown. (Detroit is in Michigan.)

The records and tournament runs, okay, freaky; but nearly identical points per game and identical points allowed? CRAZY.

Louisville will be terrible next season, like, really, really terrible.

Rick Pitino confirmed the departures of Montrezl Harrell and Terry Rozier to the NBA on Monday, shortly before news broke that Anton Gill will leave the program for somewhere else. Throw in Wayne Blackshear’s graduation and that’s Pitino’s three leading scorers and one young hopeful gone from the roster next season.

Serious question: Should Rick retire? I’m not sure he has enough life in him to rebuild and that record against Calipari will only get worse. Maybe it’s time to give it up.

The New York Knicks like big butts and they cannot lie.

From the New York Post, Phil Jackson may pass on Karl Towns if the Knicks are awarded the first pick because Towns’ butt isn’t big enough.

“They need a center with a big butt to hold space,’’ Charley Rosen, Jackson’s good friend, told The Post. “They didn’t have anybody like that. It takes away a major portion of what you can do with the triangle because then it really becomes just a perimeter offense.’’

Rosen believes the Knicks should go after Greg Monroe in free agency for its low-post presence.

“Towns is not a big enough body,” Rosen continued. “He’d never get that position in the NBA. He doesn’t have enough power or core strength. He wouldn’t be able to set up one dribble away from the basket. He’s not a kind of center you need in the triangle. He’s not physically that type of center, but he’s athletic and does other things. Look how far out (Lou) Amundson, (Jason) Smith and (Andrea) Bargnani get pushed out when they post up, well out of the box.’’

Tennessee will hire Rick Barnes, formerly of Texas and first weekend exits of the NCAA Tournament.

Barnes caught a lot of heat for underachieving with talented rosters at Texas, but it’s a pretty good get for Tennessee. There’s not much better out there for the Vols right now with Texas and Alabama going after Shaka Flocka Smart and Gregg Marshall. Maybe Barnes can rejuvenate a program that is in desperate need of a boost.

Mark Pope gets first head coaching job.

The former Wildcat became the head coach of Utah Valley State on Monday. Pope spent the last four season on the BYU bench after brief gigs with Wake Forest and Georgia following an NBA career that included stops in Indiana, Milwaukee and Denver.

At Kentucky, Pope was a member of the 1996 championship team.

UK signees and targets didn’t do so well in the Powerade Jam Fest.

Isaiah Briscoe and UK targets Brandon Ingram, Malik Newman and Stephen Zimmerman failed to escape the first round of the three-point contest, while Zimmerman lost to Florida State’s Dwayne Bacon in the dunk contest and Briscoe came up shy in the skills challenge.

The McDonald’s All-American game will be televised Wednesday night at 9:00 pm on ESPN.

The Final Four is almost here.

CAN YOU FEEL IT?

More to come throughout the week as we count down till Indianapolis. KSR will be in Indy bright and early Thursday morning for complete coverage of the scene.

Let’s. Go.

]]>http://kentuckysportsradio.com/basketball-2/willie-cauley-steins-monday-night-news-and-views/feed/8Kentucky Hosts a New Number One Team This Weekhttp://kentuckysportsradio.com/other-uk-sports/kentucky-hosts-a-new-number-one-team-this-week/
http://kentuckysportsradio.com/other-uk-sports/kentucky-hosts-a-new-number-one-team-this-week/#commentsTue, 31 Mar 2015 03:06:28 +0000http://kentuckysportsradio.com/?p=176544

(Photo by UK Athletics)

A week after beating #1 LSU in a best-of-three series, Kentucky will host new #1 Texas A&M this weekend at Cliff Hagan Stadium. The Aggies are ranked first in both the USA Today Coaches’ Poll and the Collegiate Poll and second in each of the others behind only Vanderbilt. Texas A&M was not projected as a top-tier SEC Team before the season, but a 24-game winning streak to open 2015 shot them up to the top five.

This is yet another example of how strenuous and difficult the SEC really is in 2015. Kentucky will have an opportunity to knock off yet another #1 this Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Come out and support the BatCats at the Cliff or watch on SEC Network.

Before we start finalizing those plans for Indianapolis this coming weekend, let’s take one last look back toward the Midwest Regional in lovely Cleveland, Ohio.

And because words won’t do it justice, let’s use GIFs to relive the moments…

Kentucky opened up action in Cleveland with West Virginia, the talkin-est team to ever talk before playing the undefeated Wildcats in the Sweet 16. WVU freshman Daxter Miles guaranteed a Mountaineers win the day before the game, which only made the imminent beatdown worse once the two teams met on the court.

It was all UK from the tip, led by Ashley Judd’s cheers from behind the bench. She lost her hat while directing the officials during Kentucky’s 18-2 run to start the game.

What’s that, Bob? You don’t agree with the call?

This was one of the many F-bombs Huggy Bear dropped on the West Virginia sideline. If F-bombs were worth a point, maybe his team keeps it close.

Probably not, though.

Hell, it was such a blowout, Marcus Lee got tired of dominating the Mountainteers and dunked on his own teammate.

At least someone was scoring over a Wildcat. West Virginia sure wasn’t doing it. Not even a dislocated finger on Mr. March himself could slow down Kentucky in this one. Aaron Harrison popped the bone back into place and returned to the game. Because that’s what killers do. And it landed him a kiss on the head from his coach.

Awwwwwwwww

Andrew Harrison, you’re a bad man. They were just showing off at this point.

By the way, the guy on his back at the end of the play, that’s the one who made fun of the Harrison twins for playing Nintendo. DO NOT MAKE FUN OF NINTENDO.

He called the twins “cheap,” too. But hey, at least he’s not the one who predicted that West Virginia win. It sure was a rough night for that guy: zero points, zero wins.

Make that 37-0 for the Cats.

Then came Notre Dame in the Elite Eight for a spot in the Final Four and the Irish gave Kentucky all it could handle for the entire game. The Wildcats trailed for a 15-minute stretch in the second half, giving up dunks and open jumpers to Jerian Grant, Pat Connaughton and Zach Auguste, while we all sat around like this:

Kentucky would take the lead with three minutes to go on an Aaron Harrison three-pointer from somewhere near Columbus. Aaron stared down the bench after his big shot as Devin Booker called him a bad — what, Devin?

The cameras cut away from that last syllable. It looks like he said “bad mother” and then some other word, possibly starting with an F.

Minutes later, Andrew Harrison knocked down two free throws to break a tie game with six second remaining. Then Grant’s final prayer for Notre Dame missed its mark at the buzzer, sending Karl Towns to the court like a UK fan in Lexington running toward State Street.

Kentucky punched its ticket to a second consecutive Final Four, its fourth in five years under John Calipari.

This guy is you. He is me. He is all of us during the Elite Eight game. One minute we’re ripping our hair out, losing all hope in the perfect season. The next minute Aaron Harrison is being Aaron Harrison or Andrew Harrison has the ball in his hands with a chance to win the game.

Michigan State’s postseason run as a No. 7 seed is somewhat unexpected — but with Tom Izzo, is it? — as the Spartans advanced to the Final Four for the first time since 2010. Izzo’s squad entered the tournament with 11 losses on the season but is hot at the right time, having won eight of its last night games.

State’s current Final Four run is eerily similar to UConn’s one year ago — and when I say eerily similar, I mean identical.

Prepare to have your minds blown with a comparison of the two:

2013-14 Connecticut Huskies

— Ranked No. 18 in the preseason AP poll

— Conference record: 12-6

— Conference standing: 3rd

— Conference tournament: Lost in finals

— Scored 71.8 points per game

— Allowed 62.3 points per game

— Mid-March odds to win title: 100-1

— Received No. 7 seed in NCAA East Region

— Defeated No. 10, 2, 3 and 4 seeds to reach Final Four

— Met the winner of Kentucky/Wisconsin in title game

2014-15 Michigan State Spartans

— Ranked No. 18 in the preseason AP poll

— Conference record: 12-6

— Conference standing: 3rd

— Conference tournament: Lost in finals

— Scores 71.9 points per game

— Allows 62.3 points per game

— Mid-March odds to win title: 100-1

— Received No. 7 seed in NCAA East Region

— Defeated No. 10, 2, 3 and 4 seeds to reach Final Four

— Will meet the winner of Kentucky/Wisconsin in title game (with semifinal win)

Of course, the one difference is UConn met an 11-loss Kentucky team missing a key player, while Michigan State will meet a Kentucky team one win away from perfection, if the Spartans can get past Duke.

Still, crazy stuff here.

(Hat-tip to Corey James from JKTMB Sports for sparking the discussion in our group text.)

During yesterday’s games, CBS played a hilarious clip of Frank Kaminsky doing The Carlton dance, which reminded me of when Josh Harrellson busted it out at the 2010 Big Blue Madness. That, of course, made me want to poll the masses.

Ramel Bradley came to Kentucky with a talented group of All-Americans including Rajon Rondo, Joe Crawford and Randolph Morris. Bradley played for Kentucky from 2004 until 2008 under Tubby Smith for three seasons and Billy Gillespie for one. In his 128 games as a Wildcat, Bradley scored a total of 1326 points, which ranks him 28th overall in Kentucky’s all-time scoring history. Bradley was named to the First-Team All-SEC in 2008.

Bradley’s favorite memory from his time at Kentucky comes from his Senior Day defeat over Florida.

After we got the win, embracing the fact that it was going to be my last game in Rupp Arena (was emotional),” Bradley said. “Taking one more look at all the fans cheering and holding up the ‘Roc’ sign.”

After graduating from the University of Kentucky in 2008, Bradley went underrated in the NBA Draft that summer. However, he was invited by the New Jersey Nets to play in the NBA Summer League because they liked his efforts he gave in his workouts and other camps he participated in. The Nets did not sign him for the following season.

Bradley decided to take his basketball talents overseas and signed with Cedevita Zagreb in Croatia. During his one season in Zagreb, he averaged 15.1 points and 2.4 assists.

In June of 2009, Bradley signed with a JDA Dijon, a French Pro-A Team. Bradley played the entire season for Dijon averaging 12 points, 3.7 assists and 2.7 rebounds.

In 2010, Bradley left for Israel to sign with Maccabi Ashdod. In his eighteenth game with the team, he injured his knee and missed the rest of season due to season ending surgery.

Bradley played in Israel for the next two seasons with Hapoel Jerusalem (2011-12) and Berak Netanya (2012-13) where he became very fond of the Middle East.

“It’s a great feeling walking outside, Israeli kids run up to me and know my name ‘Bradley! Bradley!’” he said. “I’m recognized almost everywhere I go, we’re living our N.B.A. life overseas.”

While playing for Netanya, Bradley volunteered for Netanya Hoops for Kids that organized a retreat for children in a southern city of Israel.

“It was also very humbling knowing that I could help these kids, put a smile on their faces, and keep them happy through ball. It shows it’s not about where you’re from but making the most of the time that you have in the moment.”

Bradley then headed to Turkey where he signed with Turk Telekom. He continued to play in Turkey the following season for Yesilgiresun Belediye where he continues to play today. Bradley averages 19.1 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game as one of the starting five. Yesilgiresun currently sits in 8th place in the Turkish Second Basketball League with a record of 15-12.

Bradley continues to keep a close on the Kentucky basketball team as seen through his Twitter page. He still remains good friends with former teammate, Joe Crawford.

Ramel “Smooth” Bradley always had a deep love for music, so here one of his songs he produced back in 2010. Not too bad Ramel.

My favorite Ramel Bradley memory comes from when I went to a UK Hoops game against Tennessee back during the Candace Parker days. Ramel was at the game and he signed my shirt and I thought that was the coolest thing in the world as a middle schooler. I still remember the exact shirt he signed and what his signature looks like.